Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor reflect on how difficult it was to experience the backlash to the three Star Wars prequels. Years after the conclusion of the original trilogy in 1983 with Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, it was announced that a new trilogy was in the works with George Lucas on board to write and direct. This prequel trilogy would introduce McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi and Christensen's Anakin Skywalker and set the stage for what would eventually come (and what had already happened) in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
Hotly anticipated by fans, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace drew intense criticism from fans and critics upon its release in 1999. From the stilted dialogue to the slow-moving story and the forced humor from the infamous Jar Jar Binks, many viewers were highly vocal about their disappointment. The criticism largely continued upon the release of the two subsequent installments, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, although the latter is widely seen as the best of the three. Time has been kind to the Star Wars prequel trilogy, with many fans coming to appreciate it for various reasons, particularly the evolving dynamic between McGregor and Christensen.
In a new interview with EW, Christensen and McGregor reflect on the backlash the prequels received and how it felt to be making movies that so many fans didn't seem to like. Both actors were relatively early in their careers at the time and both Christensen and McGregor agree that, after putting so much into their performances, the backlash wasn't easy to deal with. Check out the comments from Christensen and McGregor below:
Ewan McGregor: "I found it quite hard. For it to come out and get knocked so hard was personally quite difficult to deal with. And also, it was quite early in my career. I didn't really know how to deal with that. I'd been involved with things that just didn't make much of a ripple, but that's different from making something that makes a negative ripple."
Hayden Christensen: "When the films came out and the critics were very critical, of course that was a difficult thing — because you care so much about this thing that you've invested so much of yourself into. So, for sure, that's challenging."
Before appearing in the Star Wars prequels, McGregor had starred in 1996's Trainspotting, which very much put him on the map as an actor. Following Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith in 2005, McGregor continued to appear regularly in movies and seemed all too happy to put Star Wars behind him, saying of the franchise in 2016, "I don't have a burning desire to do it again or, indeed, any sort of fascination for the movies that everyone else seems to have." Christensen, meanwhile, took a years-long break from acting altogether and started a farm.
Fans certainly seemed to have softened on the prequels now, to the point where Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith actually seems to be held in high regard. Ironically, Disney+'s upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi show is one of the most highly anticipated Star Wars projects of recent memory, in part because it promises to reunite both McGregor and Christensen. The actors' comments also highlight the fact that behind every critically panned film there is a team of hardworking individuals attempting to make the best thing they can. With Obi-Wan Kenobi welcoming audiences back to the Star Wars universe on May 25th, hopefully, the show will prove to be a hit with critics and audiences alike.
Source: EW
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